Congress tries to downplay Didi snub

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A girl smears colour on a poster of railway minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on the eve of Basant Utsav

Is the bonhomie between the allies — Congress and Trinamul Congress — already over? Or is it a prelude to the break-up of the honeymoon period between the two? These are the questions doing the round after Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s “one-sided announcement” of her party’s list of candidates for the crucial Assembly polls and which has left the state Congress fuming and certainly the Left Parties smiling.
Taking Ms Banerjee’s “unilateral” announcement of Trinamul candidates as a snub, the state Congress has refused to accept the offer of 64 seats. “She might as well had not left any seat for the Congress”, Congress MP and Murshidabad district president Adhir Chowdhury said, adding that Congressmen are both disappointed and angry.
Shakeel Ahmed, AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal, had a guarded response to the drama over the announcement and Ms Banerjee’s veiled threat to Congress that if it does not field its candidates from the 64 seats within the deadline of March 21 that she will put up her own candidates there too, including those from the minority community.
“It is a very recent development. The top leadership of the party will consider and take a decision on it,” he quipped.
Sources revealed that Ms Banerjee spoke to Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee late on Thursday night and is believed to have agreed to accommodate the Congress’ demand. Later, in what seems to be an attempt to downplay the snub by the Trinamul Congress chief, the state Congress president said that it was taking time because of procedural work only.
“We have to bear with it. We want the alliance with Trinamul Congress in a very positive way. We are moving in that direction,” Mr Manas Bhunia said.